If there is one position the Ohio State Buckeyes are known for, it could very well be linebacker.

 

While Penn State is more affably known as “Linebacker U,” OSU seems to produce All-Americans annually at the position.
 

Last season, OSU had to replace all-everything linebacker James Laurinaitis and longtime starter Marcus Freeman. They didn’t miss a beat, however, as Brian Rolle and Austin Spitler were productive in their starting roles.
 

With Spitler gone, the Buckeyes are looking for a replacement to match his production.
 

“We’re going to play the best three linebackers,” said Luke Fickell, linebacker coach.

“We’ve got a couple of older guys in Homan and Rolle who have played a lot but we’re really looking to see what the young guys can do.”
 

OSU has several young players eager to fill the void, but it looks like it could finally be Etienne Sabino’s time.
 

Sabino, a blue-chip prospect from Florida, might have been the most-heralded recruit in the 2008 class other than Terrelle Pryor. His size, speed and athleticism made him arguably one of the top linebacker prospects in the country.
 

Some expected Sabino to have an immediate impact, while others looked for him to be a starter last season when OSU replaced two seniors.
 

It wasn’t Sabino’s extraordinary physical gifts that were holding him back, Fickell said.
 

“You just see him a little more confident, a little bit more of a reacting guy and attacking,” Fickell said. “In the past, he has been a cerebral guy who wants to know everything and sometimes in this sport you can’t know everything. You just have to fly and attack and react on the run.”
 

“Sometimes we try to study guys and how they learn, and those kind of guys who want more info just take that extra year to process it,” Fickell said, “but when they are ready to go, they’ll be good to go usually.”
 

Rolle said that he has always known Sabino had extraordinary talent, but at times played too mechanically or like a robot, which held him back. He said Sabino is doing a good job of playing more naturally and is preparing to make his presence known.
 

“He’s such a young kid,” Fickell said. “I know he is going to be a junior, but he is only 19 years old, and you would like to have some more time with him. He is really coming along and I think this is his best spring so far.”
 

Behind the likely starters of Homan, Rolle and Sabino, the Buckeyes are still trying to find the right players who will be able to contribute.
 

Andrew Sweat was another highly touted recruit from 2008 who should be ready to get playing time come September. Right now, however, Sweat is still working his way back from ACL surgery.
 

“Andrew is a guy [who thinks he is ready to roll],” Fickell said. “He is only five-and-a-half months out of ACL surgery and he is the guy we are expecting a lot from. If he was in there it would be interesting to see who our best three guys were. He is probably a month away but he thinks he is ready to go, and the other day he jumped in there and went full go.”
 

Fickell said he would like to have as many as nine guys at linebacker who could take turns playing, and stressed the importance of having more capable players than just the three starters.
 

Along with Sweat, younger players such as Storm Klein, Dorian Bell, Jonathan Newsome and incoming recruits Scott McVey and Jamel Turner could add depth.
 

“You would like to have six guys who can play,” Fickell said. “Would I be comfortable with some of those freshman guys on the field right now? Probably not real comfortable, but how will we know until we do it? With the jersey scrimmage and the spring game and fall camp, that is when we can really get to evaluate and see what they can do.”